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The
writing sample we ask you to produce will determine your
placement in one of our two writing courses for first-year
students or transfer students who still need to meet the
general education writing requirement. Should you not pass the
writing placement test, you will be asked to work on your
writing by taking a remedial writing course at a community
college. So, the first thing students need to know is that the
writing sample is important! As a new student, please
take the test seriously, and strive to show us your very best
writing skills. In order to help you understand what
constitutes a good writing sample, the College's Writing
Center offers these pointers:
Your
writing sample should be appropriate. This means
addressing the topic of the posed question. Guard against
wandering off and writing about a related (or even unrelated)
topic. This is a common error among entering student writers.
Also, use language and tone that is appropriate for your
audience (English Department faculty); that is, don't use
slang and don't be too informal or flip in your answer.
Your
response should be focused and clear. State your
controlling idea (thesis) in an introductory paragraph and
stay on track as you develop your essay. Your reader should
not have to wonder what your position is, or feel that you are
contradicting yourself.
Develop
and organize your
essay. Don't state your controlling idea and merely restate it
in different ways throughout the body of your essay. Give the
reasons why you feel as you do in distinct, well-developed
paragraphs that begin with topic sentences and include
appropriate, accurate details and examples.
Use
acceptable and effective sentence structure. If you
have had problems with sentence structure in the past
(run-ons, fragments), review these issues by using a handbook
for writers. Since your writing course instructor will ask you
to buy a writer's handbook, we don't want to suggest a
particular title now. However, you might already have a good
handbook from a course you took at your high school or
previous college, and most libraries carry a collection of
these books. Review any areas (for example: thesis, paragraph
development, punctuation,) that you have had trouble with in
the past, and practice writing short, argumentative essays
before placement testing. You might also consider
visiting one of the on-line resources
for writers recommended by the Framingham State College
Writing Center.
Guard
against too many errors in usage and mechanics. No one
expects you to write a grammatically perfect placement essay
(although we would be happy if you do so), but too many poorly
chosen words, grammar errors, and punctuation problems risks
earning a low score. Again, use care while writing the essay,
and use the resources listed below prior to orientation if you
tend to have difficulty in these areas.
For more information on the
Writeplacer test, please refer to this Accuplacer link:
Back
to Placement Testing
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